The Ordo Templi Orientis, or O.T.O., is an initiatic body composed of
men and women who have accepted the principles of The Book of the Law,
which was transmitted through Aleister Crowley in Cairo, Egypt in 1904
E.V. The O.T.O. was the first of the Great Old Aeon Orders to accept
the Law of Thelema.

In 1885, Karl Kellner, a wealthy Austrian industrialist and paper chemist,
as well as a high-grade Mason, founded the Ordo Templi Orientis.
Kellner traveled widely in the East, where he met three Adepts who instructed
him in specific magical practices. Kellner's efforts to develop the
Order were later assisted by Franz Hartmann, Heinrich Klein and Theodor
Reuss, who had worked together prior to joining the O.T.O. The Order
was first proclaimed in 1902 in Reuss' Masonic publication, Oriflamme.
On Kellner's death, Reuss succeeded him as Outer Head . The "Jubilee"
edition of the Oriflamme, published in 1912, announced that the
Order taught the secret of sexual magick.

Reuss was later associated with William Wynn Wescott, the leader of
the Golden Dawn, who introduced him to John Yarker. Yarker chartered
Reuss to found the Rites of Memphis and Mizraim in Germany. After
several attempts to concretize various Masonic Rites, Reuss settled on
the development of the O.T.O. The Order experienced reasonably steady
growth under Reuss' leadership. He chartered Papus (Gerard Encausse[?])
in France, Rudolph Steiner in Berlin and H. Spencer Lewis in the USA.

----o.g.

In 1910 Aleister Crowley was given the VII° in recognition of his
status as a 33° Mason, which was a common practice at this time within
O.T.O. This was also partly in support of Crowley in his lawsuit
with MacGregor Mathers over Crowley's publication of Golden Dawn material.
During the proceedings Mathers declared his authority as the Head of all
the Rosicrucians, probably assuming his Golden Dawn to have been the only
practicing Rosicrucian system at that time. However, Mathers' statement
offended many members of various Rosicrucian fraternities, and many of
them bestowed titles upon Crowley in support of his case. During
the following two years, Crowley worked through the VII°, VIII°
and IX°, receiving the IX° in 1912.

However, many years later, in his Confessions, Crowley says "Shortly
after publication [of the Book of Lies], the O.H.O. came to me.
(At that time I did not realise there was anything in the O.T.O. beyond
a convenient compendium of the more important truths in Free Masonry.)
He said to me that since I was acquainted with the supreme secret of the
Order, I must be allowed the IX° and obligated in regard to it.
I protested that I knew no such secret. He said 'but you have printed
it in the plainest language'. I said that I could not have done so
because I did not know it. He went to the bookshelves; taking a copy
of the Book of Lies, he pointed to a passage..." The only
problem with this story is that the Book of Lies was not published
until 1913, after Crowley had taken the IX°. To the author's
knowledge, this discrepancy is still a source of some speculation.

What is most likely is that Crowley, writing about 30 years later, remembered
incorrectly which particular book it was in which Reuss pointed out the
passage. At a recent public lecture, Lon Milo DuQuette IX° commented
that due to the sublime everpresent nature of the IX° secret, Reuss
could well have pointed to many of Crowley's writings. Some believe
that Reuss wanted Crowley as the Rex Summus Sanctissimus of all
the English speaking world because by this time Crowley was a rather famous
magickian there, and would inspire more interest in the Order. Knowing
that Crowley was enlightened enough to see the secret when a particular
piece was shown to him, Reuss more or less tricked Crowley into becoming
a IX°.

At this time, Crowley essentially took over the publication of The
Equinox as the official organ of the O.T.O. Additionally, in
1912, the Ordo Templi Orientis officially accepted the Law of Thelema,
and Crowley was given authority to rewrite the initiation rituals of the
O.T.O., infusing the doctrines of the New Aeon.

----end o.g.

Crowley succeeded in fostering a few strong leaders in North America,
and it is to these deep roots that the O.T.O. owes its continued survival.
The North American O.T.O. was founded in 1912 when Charles Stansfeld Jones
(aka Frater Achad) brought together twelve sincere and interested associates
in the vicinity of Vancouver, British Columbia, all of whom signed forms
agreeing to take initiation through the III°. They were duly
chartered as Agape Camp.

Frater Achad, as Parzival X°, continued to stimulate O.T.O. activity
in both Canada and the U.S. for many years. However, it was Wilfred
Talbot Smith, one of the charter members of the Vancouver body, who founded
the first Lodge in the United States. Agape Lodge in Pasadena, Californi,
in the 1930s.

Reuss resigned as the Outer Head of the Order in 1922 after suffering
a stroke and named Crowley as his successor

The Order of Oriental Templars, or Ordo Templi Orientis

xxxx
x
--------
The letters O.T.O. stand for Ordo Templi Orientis, the Order of Oriental
Templars, or Order of the Temple of the East. O.T.O. is an Outer Thelemic
Order which is dedicated to the high purpose of securing the Liberty of
the Individual and his or her advancement in Light, Wisdom, Understanding,
Knowledge, and Power through Beauty, Courage, and Wit, on the Foundation
of Universal Brotherhood.

O.T.O. is the first of the great Old Æon orders to accept The
Book of the Law, received by Aleister Crowley in 1904 EV. This book proclaims
a New Æon in human thought, culture and religion. The Æon arises
from a single supreme injunction: the Law of Thelema, which is Do what
thou wilt.

This Law is not to be interpreted as a license to indulge every passing
whim, but rather as the mandate to discover one's True Will and accomplish
it; leaving others to do the same in their own unique ways. "Every man
and every woman is a star." The Law of Thelema can ultimately be fulfilled
only through the individual efforts of each person. Nevertheless, many
worthy aspirants to the Great Work of Thelema have a genuine need for information,
guidance, fellowship, or the opportunity to assist their fellow aspirants
and serve humanity. Such aspirants will find welcome in O.T.O.

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